Autumn 2008

Encouraged by environmental concerns and rising fuel costs, electrically-powered delivery vehicles are coming into their own as never before, and can match conventional vehicles in many respects. Peter Rowlands looks into this recent phenomenon

If ever there was a good time to be looking for alternative fuels for delivery vehicles, it has to be now. Despite the modest decline in oil prices since they hit their high this summer, diesel costs continue to play havoc with budgets, and to undermine the economy of transport as a whole.

Which plays neatly into the hands of the electric vehicle makers. In a market where environmental concerns were already driving the switch to alternative fuels, electric power now also looks increasingly appealing from an economic point of view.

The rapid surge of interest in electric vehicles is still a very recent phenomenon. Until about three years ago few delivery firms even considered using electric power. Past generations of electric delivery vehicles either didn't look like normal delivery vehicles or didn't perform like them (or both), despite the valiant efforts of a handful of developers such as BBIG to persuade users to adopt them.

 

Neither of these concerns now applies. Makers such as Smith Electric Vehicles and Modec, which are leading the charge in the UK market, now offer convincing electrically-powered trucks and vans that can accelerate at least as fast as their conventional equivalents, and travel at similar speeds. In the case of Smith's range, they look indistinguishable from those equivalents too, and are remarkably similar to drive.

Modec's range is more idiosyncratic in appearance, but arguably this is a benefit, since they provide a visible reminder that their operators are innovators with a green agenda. And subjectively, Modec vans look smart and futuristic, which can't be bad. Their appearance may well have helped persuade Tesco to put fifteen into service on home shopping deliveries, where consumers will have plenty of chance to register the company's green approach.

In two respects these electrics still lag behind their diesel-powered equivalents. They can't travel as far as (the maximum range is usually between 100 and 150 miles on a single charge), and they can't carry as much payload. Modec's vans, for instance, weigh over 3 tonnes, and can only carry 2 tonnes.

But perhaps the limited range doesn't matter. As Modec's Catherine Hutt points out: 'Our research shows that delivery firms think they need a range of 100 miles per day from their vehicles, but actually a lot only tend to get 50 miles out of them.'

As an example, she cites one user, Hilden, whose electric vehicle delivers around London, and only clocks up 30 miles a day. 'The issue of range is mostly a psychological barrier, not a physical one.'

Smith Electric director Kevin Harkin echoes that point. 'In London and other conurbations, fleet operators will tell you they're lucky to do 30 to 50 miles a day.' He says a vehicle operated by TNT, one of Smith's major customers, runs 12 miles from Barking into central London every morning and 12 miles back at night, yet clocks up only six miles on actual collection and delivery work, despite making at least 50 calls.

Certainly TNT seems convinced of the appeal. Following early trials, it ordered no fewer than 100 vans from Smith Electric, later augmenting the order with a further 50. These look set to make it the biggest single operator of modern-day electric vans in the UK.

Historically, the problem with electric vehicles has been the weight and performance of the batteries. As Smith's Kevin Harkin points out: 'There's never been any question mark over the technology behind electric power as such. Look at all the trains that use it. The challenge is all about storing the power effectively on board the vehicle.'

Traditional lead acid batteries were too heavy, and the breakthrough came with the advent of much more compact nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. These are said to be three times more energy-efficient than lead acid, and have been adopted by most of the latter-day mainstream electric vehicle developers.

Harkin says modern battery technology has resulted in vehicles that can convert up to 80 per cent of input energy into output – far better than diesel, which he puts at around 50 per cent. That certainly plays to users' green aspirations.

Lately an alternative battery technology has emerged – lithium-ion iron phosphate. These batteries are slightly more expensive than NiMH batteries, but hold out the promise of an extended range per charge, or alternatively lower weight and volume for a given range.

Both Smith and Modec now offer both types of battery, as do rivals on the world stage such as Italian-based Micro-Vett, which converts Fiat and Isuzu trucks and vans to electric power, and is represented in the UK by NICE.

These technologies, coupled with a switch from low-speed DC motors to more flexible AC motors, opened the dam that was blocking electric vehicle development. The market is not easily beguiled, though. Many observers have pointed out that although electric vehicles emit no harmful emissions on the street, the power they consume has to be generated somewhere, and the power station could still be emitting greenhouse gases.

Kevin Harkin is unperturbed by this objection. He points out that the emissions caused by electricity generation depend entirely on how the electricity is sourced. 'One of our customers, BSkyB, uses only *green' electricity, so their vehicles really are zero-emission vehicles.'

Perhaps more telling is his claim that even if you charge your electric vehicles from an ordinary mains supply, they can be up to 50 per cent greener than equivalent diesel vehicles, simply because of the inherent efficiencies of electric power.

With the green credentials and in-service performance of electrics looking pretty unassailable, the economics come into play. So just how much can you save with electric vehicles? Well, currently operators of electric vehicles don't pay road tax, don't pay London's congestion charge, don't need an operator's licence, and can get away with radically reduced maintenance costs (no conventional driveline to service and no annual MOT test). And the electric 'fuel' costs are put at just a quarter those of diesel.

Against these savings, you have to set the significantly higher cost of the electric vehicles themselves – or certainly of the bigger ones. A Modec van grossing 5.5 tonnes costs around £33,000, and a big Smith Newton, which is based on a Czech-built Avia truck chassis, costs £74,000 including batteries.

Kevin Harkin says Smith's initial objective has been to keep its vehicles at least cost-neutral compared with diesels over a typical write-down period – say five years for its Newton, four for the Transit-based Edison and three for the Transit Connect-based Ampere.

However, because they suffer much less stress than normal vehicles, electric vehicles should be able to enjoy a much longer life; and that means operators keeping them for an extended life stand to gain much greater cost benefits, as well as above-average resale values. Harkin reports that Smith recently sold a year-old Newton demonstrator for £71,000 – only £3,000 below the list price for a new one.

The big unknown at this stage of development is the ultimate cost and reliability of the batteries themselves. Sceptics think traction batteries of the type used by these vehicles won't stand up to the hard graft of years in front-line service; the suppliers are adamant that they will. Smith, which offers annual performance tests on its batteries, reckons they should retain over 99 per cent efficiency after a year, and 95 per cent after five years.

Modec hopes to eliminate concerns about battery longevity by leasing its batteries to users, rather than selling them. This way, it argues, it is taking possible risk out of the equation. If they do need replacing, Catherine Hutt says it can take as little as 15 minutes to exchange the 'cassettes' that hold the batteries in place.

Smith is willing to lease batteries if required, but Kevin Harkin says there has been virtually no demand for this. He also feels that leasing the batteries might have an adverse effect on the resale value of the vehicles.

Considering how quickly batteries can in theory be changed, you might think some operators would want to keep a spare set and swap them out as a matter of routine – perhaps to enable vehicles to run a double shift. In practice, however, it seems this simply doesn't happen. The reason is probably the relatively high cost of a set of batteries (many thousands of pounds). It would add enormously to your operating costs to hold a spare set for every vehicle. So the normal operational pattern involves charging overnight.

While Smith and Modec might seem to have cornered the market in full-sized electric vehicles, they won't have things all their own way. Numerous makers of smaller electric vans could extend up the weight range (see panel, page 38), and other contenders in the full-sized vehicle market are already emerging.

One is Italy's Micro Vett, which is converting a range of full-sized vans from the Fiat range, including Ducato, Fiorino and Scudo models. Another is Britain's own LDV (now owned by Russia's Gaz group, of course), which has announced an all-electric version of its Transit challenger, the Maxus.

The electric Maxus is said to have a top speed of 55 mph and range of 85 miles. Interestingly, it is also said to use the standard gearbox.

BOX: Smaller electric vehicles

Whilst full-sized electric vehicle manufacturers are grabbing the headlines at the moment, a wide range of companies manufacturing smaller electric vehicles are already snapping at their heels, recognising that the shift to green solutions and the high price of fuel will add appeal to their ranges. Their vehicles are generally aimed at local urban deliveries.

Manufacturers coming to attention lately include Stevens, a UK-based manufacturer, and NICE, which supplies the French-built Mega range. Both are stylish small-van ranges with a lot of design flair. NICE is also working with Italian van converter Micro-Vett.

France has seen the emergence of several electric vehicle makers, including not just AIXAM Mega but also Matra and Groupil. And there are many developments further afield.

Waiting in the wings is also Britain's BBIG (formerly Bluebird), which has a range of designs up its sleeve, including one for a full-sized electrically-powered urban articulated outfit. Martin Rees, the leading light behind it, was involved in the project to develop a futuristic milk float for Express Dairies earlier in this decade.

BOX: Hybrid and hydrogen

Although electric vehicles have the virtue of a single, essentially simple technology at their heart, other alternative approaches to powering vehicles are also building up a head of steam. One is hybrid electric vehicles, which switch between electric power at low speeds and conventional power at higher speeds.

The disadvantage of this approach is that the vehicles are more complex than either electric or conventional vehicles on their own. The advantage, however, is that they employ technology familiar to today's engineers, and use fuel that is widely available. They also overcome the distance constraint imposed by battery capacity.

Numerous vehicle operators are now trialling hybrid vehicles, especially in the parcels market. TNT and DHL, for instance, have been running hybrid Mitsubishi Canter 7.5-tonne vans, and FedEx has been running ten hybrid Iveco Daily vans. It says their fuel consumption is 30 per cent lower than that of comparable diesels, and it is reviewing the implications for carbon emissions.

While hybrids are here now, hydrogen-powered vehicles are seen as a possible future solution. The economics of generating enough 'clean' hydrogen to exceed the power used up in conversion can be tight, but in the long term the prospects seem promising.

Simplistically there are two ways to use hydrogen as a fuel. One is to burn it in relatively standard engines as an alternative to conventional fuel (but one producing no CO2 emissions). ITM Power and Ford have been active in this market in the UK and elsewhere.

The other approach is to use the hydrogen in 'fuel cells', which are vaguely analogous to batteries, except that the reactant is used up in producing the electrical output. There are full-sized vehicles including buses running on this technology now. But the practicalities and economics of this approach mean that it could be a while before it starts to look like a mainstream solution.